Artist Statements

            Senior Portfolio CTW: GrD4950

            Anderson-Spring 2015

YOUR ARTIST STATEMENT:  1 - 1.5 pages , single-spaced (10pt Gill Sans)

(Explaining your creative and academic self to yourself. This is where I am right now in my life.)

You should write it on your own stationery. The first draft can be on plain paper but the finished draft must be on your new branding stationery.

                      

Question: Why do I have to write an artist statement?

It's stupid. If I wanted to write to express myself I would have been a writer. The whole idea of my art is to say things visually. Why can't people just look at my art and design and take away whatever experiences they will?

Answer: Artist statements are not stupid; they're more like essential. And you don't have to be a writer to write one. And people already look at your art and take away whatever experiences they will. Your artist statement is about facts, a basic introduction to your art; it's not instructions on what to experience, what to think, how to feel, how to act, or where to stand, and if it is, you'd better do a rewrite.

On this planet, people communicate through language, and your artist statement introduces and communicates the language component of your art. People who come into contact with your art and want to know more will have questions. When you're there, they ask you and you answer. When you're not there, your artist statement answers for you. Or when you're there, but you don't like to answer questions, or you're too busy to answer questions, or someone's too embarrassed to ask you questions, then, your artist statement, does the job.

Just about all artists want as many people as possible to appreciate their art.

A good artist statement works towards this end, and the most important ingredient of a good statement is its language.

WRITE YOUR STATEMENT IN LANGUAGE THAT ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND, not language that you understand, not language that you and your friends understand, not language that you learn in art school, but everyday language that you use with everyday people to accomplish everyday things.

An effective statement reaches out and welcomes people to your art, no matter how little or how much they know about art to begin with; it never excludes.

Like an introduction to a book, your statement presents the fundamental underpinnings of your art; write it for people who are about to read "your book," not those who've already read it. In three to five paragraphs of three to five sentences each, provide basic information like:

WHY YOU MAKE YOUR ART/DESIGN?

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

WHAT YOUR ART/DESIGN IS INSPRIED BY?

WHAT DOES YOUR ART/DESIGN MEANS TO YOU.?

Don't bog readers down, but rather entice them to want to know more. As with any good first impression, your statement should hook and invite further inquiry, like a really good story is about to be told. Give too little, not too much. People have short attention spans. Short, clear and precise.  Get to the essence of who you are as an artist.

I will provide some examples of past Senior Artist Statements.

BTW: You will do a revision at the end of the semester to add/subtract any changes.